The invention relates generally to window shades, particularly folding shades having flexible panels supported for translation with respect to opposite curved tracks.
Convention centers, museums and other public structures, are often designed to include large sections of glass, or other light-transmissive material, in the exterior walls or the ceiling to admit as much natural light as possible into the structure. Such structures often include portions of walls or ceilings that are obliquely angled with respect to grade to optimize admission of light or simply for reasons of aesthetic design. The portions of the structure can also be curved. It is often necessary or desirable to shade such sections from direct sunlight, or for privacy or other reasons. For such structures, a folding shade system is useful for shading of the angled portions of the structure.
A folding shade system includes a multiple-paneled shade supported by rods or cables engaging the shade between adjacent panels. The rods or cables are attached to cars that translate along tracks located on opposite sides of the shade. Motor driven pull cables are attached to an end of the shade to provide for lowering and raising of the shade on the tracks.
The engagement between the tracks and the cars establishes upper and lower boundaries for potential translation of the shade along the tracks by the motor driven pull cables. Areas beyond the upper end of the tracks cannot be covered by prior art folding shade systems because the cars are of necessity stopped before the end of the tracks are reached to maintain the engagement between the cars and the tracks. Thus, in situations where the track cannot be extended to reach certain areas, because of structural constraints for example, a prior art folding shade cannot be used to cover such an area, or can only cover a portion of the area with gaps remaining between the shade and the structure.
The present invention provides a shade system including a plurality of shade panels secured together in an end-to-end fashion. The shade panels are supported for translation along first and second tracks between a retracted position in which the shade panels are located adjacent a first end of the tracks and an extended position in which the shade panels extend toward an opposite second end of the tracks. The shade system further includes an extension panel operably connected to a terminal shade panel for translation therewith.
The shade system includes an extension panel support assembly having respective first and second mount members operably secured to the first and second tracks for translation therealong. The extension panel support assembly further includes respective first and second deployment members connected to the first and second mount members. The deployment members are secured to the extension panel and adapted to place at least a portion of the extension panel beyond the second end of the tracks when the shade system is in the extended position.
The shade system also includes a drive system engaging at least one of the deployment members. The drive system is adapted to translate the extension panel and the shade panels between the retracted and the extended positions.
According to one embodiment of the invention, the deployment member includes an elongated arm that is pivotably connected to the mount member at a pivot axis. The pivot axis is substantially perpendicular to a portion of the track adjacent the mount member such that the arm is pivotable between a retracted position in which the arm is oblique with respect to the adjacent track portion and a deployed position in which the arm is substantially parallel the adjacent track portion.